1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to means of preventing rodents and other such pests from entering a recreational vehicle through the service compartment wherein access portals for waste, water, and electricity are present. More particularly, the present invention comprises various embodiments of a device for sealing such access ports within a recreational vehicle's service compartment thereby preventing rodents and other pests from gaining access to the recreational vehicle while providing a passage for utility conduits such as waste, water, and electricity.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recreational vehicle (RV) is a motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home and provides a popular means of vacationing for families and couples alike. RVs provide all of the amenities of household living such as sleeping, cooking, entertaining, and bathing as well as storage of clothing, food, and other necessities for living along with the ability to bath oneself and receptacles to receive bodily waste or unclean water material (sewage) all within a vehicle that may be driven from one location to another. In order to provide this convenience RVs contain within them an electrical generator for the operation of refrigerators, stoves, air conditioning, water heaters, television, and other related components, a supply of water for the purposes of cooking, cleaning, and bathing for day to day living, and a storage container to hold sewage. However an RV may only function in a self-sufficient mode for a limited time until fuel for the electrical generator or water used for cooking, cleaning, and bathing are exhausted and need to be replenished or sewage needs to be properly disposed of. To indefinitely extend the number of days an RV may be used there exists specialized parks designed for RVs wherein an RV may enter and make use of the park's electrical and water sources and to dump any sewage stored within the RV into the park's sewage system.
To provide for the interconnect between the RV and the park's electrical, water, and sewage facilities RVs have what is called a “service compartment”. The service compartment contains access ports for the passage of electrical, water, and sewage conduits in a single convenient location with standardized connectors for each of the conduits. The park likewise employs at each RV parking spot a utility structure containing matching standardized connectors to the park's supply of electricity and water along with the park's sewage facilities. It then becomes a simple matter for the operator of the RV by use of a standardized set of cables and hoses (conduits) to in effect replace the RV's utility needs with the park's utility sources. These conduits pass through one or more access ports within the RV's service compartment and are connected to the corresponding utility receptacle within the utility structure. Once fully connected a RV has an indefinite supply of electricity and water while also being able to dispose an indefinite amount of sewage.
Although such as arrangement greatly extends the amount of time an RV may spend “on the road” the access ports within the service compartment that the conduits pass through create a problem in that the access ports, in order to facilitate the passage of a conduit, is of a larger diameter than the conduit. As a result there is a void between the conduit and the edge of the access port. By means of this void unwanted animals and pests may traverse into the RV's service compartment and once inside the service compartment they may damage sensitive components and items stored within the service compartment or worse yet obtains a means of entry into the living area of the RV itself.
A number of different sealing devices have been developed in the past for use in environments different from that of the present invention. Once such device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,291 by Francis G. Albertini titled “Sealing Assembly”. The Albertini patent discloses a mechanical sealing assembly for establishing a water-tight, rodent/insect-proof seal between one or more conduits such as cables and hoses and an access port. The assembly includes a resilient, compressible, cylindrical rubber bushing and a pair of flat plates on opposite sides of the bushing. The bushing has openings for the passage of conduits and slits in the bushing connect the opening to the perimeter of the bushing. Conduits are passed through the access port and are then forced through the slits in the bushing and into the passages in the bushing. Once the conduits have been inserted into the bushing the bushing is then positioned in the access port where a pair of flat plates, one positioned at the rear of the bushing and another at the front of the bushing, is then drawn together by bolts passing from the front plate to the rear plate causing the bushing to expand at its perimeter to effect a seal between the bushing and the access port. Such a design may be adapted for use in RVs there are a number of problems that would limits its use. First is that for very large conduits, such as sewage hoses, it would be impossible to force it through a slit and into the bushing. Another is that the thickness of the access ports in a RV's service compartment is rather thin making it difficult to properly expand the bushing to seal the access port. Finally the sealing assembly disclosed by Albertini requires the RV operator to perform a number of steps with the usage of tools making the regular use of the assembly difficult and cumbersome. Many of the other devices designed to form a seal between the perimeter of a conduit and the perimeter of the access port that provide passage for the conduit, like the Albertini patent, are designed more for walls in buildings, are to be permanently installed, and comprise a number of parts requiring tools and multiple steps for proper installation. These devices are inadequate when used by RV owners to quickly and temporally seal the space between the perimeter of a conduit and the perimeter of the access port that provide passage for the conduit without the use of tools.
A sealing device specifically designed for use in sealing the space between the perimeter of a conduit and the perimeter of the access port that provide passage for the conduit where the access port is in the service compartment of a RV is found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,128,132 by Jerry R. Cravens titled “Pest control seal for recreational vehicle”. The Cravens' patent discloses a seal for an access port that is comprised of two components: first a relatively soft and resilient annular foam material which is compressed into the annular opening between the perimeter of the conduit and the perimeter of the access port that the conduit passes through, and second a relatively thin, hard retainer, which is attached to the rim of the access port. The foam material and retainer may be attached to each other, or may be installed as separate pieces held in place by compression and suitable fasteners. Furthermore the retainer may be formed as two semicircular components, or as a single annular piece. Unlike the Albertini patent where slits are provided to allow the conduit to be positioned within passages in the bushing the Cravens patent requires the annular foam material to be first inserted at one end of the conduit and positioned within the access port. The retainer must then be positioned about the rim of the access port if formed as two semicircular components or must be inserted at one end of the conduit and slid into positioned at the rim of the access port if formed as a single annular piece. Once in position the retainer is fastened to the rim of the access port using suitable fasteners. Although the Cravens patent is designed for use in RVs its design makes it difficult to be implemented by the RV owner. First the annular foam material must be inserted at one end of the conduit and slid into position. This approach is difficult with conduit such as sewage hoses where the surface of the hose is not uniform. Also the repeated action of sliding the annular foam material will cause unnecessary wear and tear on the foam material shortening its life span. Another problem is that the retainer must be fastened to the rim of the access port using tools increasing the complexity and time of installation. Finally the dimensions of the annular foam material and the retainer must match, that is an annular foam material designed for a half inch water hose cannot be mated with a retainer designed for a 4 inch sewage hose. This abundance of parts that must be matched for proper assembly may cause the whole to fail if a single part is missing or not of the appropriate size.
The present inventor is unaware of any seals adapted and configured to seal the gap between the perimeter of a conduit and the perimeter of the access port that it passes through that may be installed quickly, without tools, and is designed as a single piece.